BIG THINGS EXPECTED OF THE RAMS IN 2012

RICHMOND, Va. – The preseason predictions continue to roll in for the VCU Baseball team, with the season a little more than a week away, this time with Perfect Game providing the preview.

The Rams are slated to finish third during the 2012 season, behind UNC Wilmington and James Madison, a pair of teams that appeared in the NCAA Tournament in 2011.

In addition to the preseason prediction of finish, Perfect Game released its preseason all-conference teams and the top 25 MLB prospects from the CAA.

Junior pitcher Blake Hauser earned the conference's top distinction, being pegged as the top overall prospect for the CAA, the CAA Pitcher of the Year and to the preseason all-conference team. Perfect Game named Hauser the top rated prospected for the 11 team league, predicting that he will be selected in the first two rounds of the 2012 MLB first-year player draft.

Hauser was joined on the list by junior pitchers Ryan Farrar and Kyle Haynes(pictured right), with the two named the third and fifth best prospects, respectively. Farrar is projected to go anywhere between rounds four and eight, while Haynes is expected to be taken anywhere from the fifth round to the tenth round.

VCU freshman infielder Vimael Machin was named the 14th best prospect in the CAA, after already being selected by the San Diego Padres in the 29th round in 2011. Machin is not eligible to be drafted a second time, until the 2014 draft.

The Rams are set to kickoff the 2012 season on Friday, Feb. 17th at Long Beach State.